Do Goldfish have Memories

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Pheasy
Posts: 5647
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2007 9:56 am

Do Goldfish have Memories

Post by Pheasy »

I have heard people say that goldfish have no memory. :-3

Well I can't see how this is true. I have 3 goldfish (Tina, Potato and Bebe - kids named them), and whenever I go near their tank they do triple somersaults and loop-the-loops expecting to get fed. So they must remember :-2

Well I laughed my head off at them today. I decided to get pellets instead of flakes (cos the flakes keep disappearing into the filter and the fish are enormous now). So they do there usual dance when I approached, I dropped the pellets in and then they went crazy (as usual). Well !:wah: Tina gulped at the pellet, turned looked at me and processed to do the big mouth opening and closing at me. It just looked like she was saying 'WTF!' :wah:
mikeinie
Posts: 3130
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:43 am

Do Goldfish have Memories

Post by mikeinie »

I think that there is a difference between memory and instinct. Yes they remember where their food comes from, and what activities result in being fed. But actual memory¦..I don’t know.
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Chezzie
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Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2007 9:41 am

Do Goldfish have Memories

Post by Chezzie »

A common belief that goldfish have a three second memory has been proven completely false. Research by the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth in 2003 demonstrated that goldfish have a memory-span of at least three months and can distinguish between different shapes, colours and sounds. They were trained to push a lever to earn a food reward; when the lever was fixed to work only for an hour a day, the fish soon learned to activate it at the correct time.

Scientific studies done on the matter have shown that goldfish have strong associative learning abilities, as well as social learning skills. In addition, their strong visual acuity allows them to distinguish between different humans. It is quite possible that owners will notice the fish react favorably to them (swimming to the front of the glass, swimming rapidly around the tank, and going to the surface mouthing for food) while hiding when other people approach the tank. Over time, goldfish should learn to associate their owners and other humans with food, often “begging for food whenever their owners approach. Auditory responses from a blind goldfish proved that he recognized one particular family member and a friend by voice, or vibration of sound. This behavior was very remarkable because it showed that he recognized the vocal vibration or sound of two people specifically out of seven in the house.

Goldfish also display a range of social behaviors. When new fish are introduced to the tank, aggressive social behaviors may sometimes be seen, such as chasing the new fish, or fin nipping. These usually stop within a few days[citation needed]. Fish that have been living together are often seen displaying schooling behavior, as well as displaying the same types of feeding behaviors. Goldfish may display similar behaviors when responding to their reflections in a mirror.

Goldfish that have constant visual contact with humans also seem to stop associating them as a threat. After being kept in a tank for several weeks, it becomes possible to feed a goldfish by hand without it reacting in a frightened manner. Some goldfish have been trained to swim through mazes, push a ball through a hoop, or even swim in a synchronized routine by their owners.[11]

Goldfish have behaviors, both as groups and as individuals that stem from native carp behavior. They are a generalist species with varied feeding, breeding, and predators avoidance behaviors that contribute to their success in the environment. As fish they can be described as “friendly towards each other, very rarely will a goldfish harm another goldfish, nor do the males harm the females during breeding. The only real threat that goldfish present to each other is in food competition. Commons, comets, and other faster varieties can easily eat all the food during a feeding before fancy varieties can reach it. This can be a problem that leads to stunted growth or possible starvation of fancier varieties when they are kept in a pond with their single-tailed brethren. As a result, when mixing breeds in an aquarium environment, care should be taken to combine only breeds with similar body type and swim characteristics.

so wikipedia says :-6
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